A Shabbat of Peace For All

I am taking a moment out of my day to stop reading about the impeding war in Israel... to stop looking at pictures of dead and injured children on both sides... to stop drafting messages from my CEO to our community on what is going on in Israel...Why? (Other than the obvious answer of, that is all insanely depressing) To say to all of you... 

SHABBAT SHALOM

 Let this be a sabbath of peace. For the Israelis. For the Gazans and Palestinians. For my friends and family who are in target zones. For the  bitter armchair internet warriors who call people on the other side horrible names and accuse them of horrible acts. For each and every one of us. 

Creating A Return On An Investment...

ROI - in business ROI stands for return on investment... And that is exactly what Lynn Schusterman got from the recent ROI Community Summit in Jerusalem, a return on her investment of the future of the Jewish people.From June 10-14, I attended this summit in Jerusalem with 150 other young Jewish innovators. Out of 600 applications, we were selected as connectors and creators, entrepreneurs and catalysts. From the United States, Israel, England, South Africa, Latvia, Brussels, Turkey, and even Uganda, we represented 30 countries. As a community, we descended on Jerusalem to sharpen our skills and pitch new projects or refine old ideas. I instantly connected with the local director of AIPAC in Dallas, an experiential journalist from London, an event promoter from NYC, a guy working to get the Israeli flag and a Torah on the moon, a woman running a speakeasy and kosher, organic, and locally grown restaurant from her Brooklyn home, a leader in the National Young Leadership Cabinet (NYLC) in Atlanta, and a Chabad rabbi. I also got to spend time with Boulder's very own Jonathan Lev, the executive director of the Boulder JCC. All I can say is, "yeah, that happened." Words seem so inadequate to express this experience.We spent five days connecting and creating. Part of the program was the opportunity to present a concept that you want to develop and then crowd-source it to get support, help developing it, and potentially funding. This year 50 ideas were posted to the site IdeaScale and for the first time, the world could vote for them. The top three ideas and their creators had the opportunity to pitch the idea to four celebrity judges. Danna Azrieli - chair of the Azrieli Foundation in Israel. Noa Tishby - actress, producer, model, and non-profit spokeswoman. Yossi Abramowitz - one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world in 2011 & 2012 according to the Jerusalem Post. President and co-founder of the Arava Power Company. Yossi Vardi - an Israeli high-tech entrepreneur.I highly encourage you to go to roisummit2012.ideascale.com and look at what came out of this conference. And yes, I did pitch an idea. One that my co-worker at the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez and I have been developing. It is called Tikkun Platoon. This is flash mob philanthropy, where collective identity meets collective responsibility to affect social change.  I hope that with the help of the ROI community, this dream will become a reality soon!The amazing thing about ROI is that it is not just a conference, it's a community. I am now a part of something big, with some 800 ROI'ers across the world, we have access to each other and our talents and microgrant funding for projects. The goal is that through a 1000 ROI'ers, we will reach 1 million people. And it is happening. You may be familiar with G-dcast.com, the weekly parsha videos online or Moshe House? These are both concepts born from ROI. Judging by the brilliance that was posted on IdeaScale, there will be many more.At the end of the day, though, my favorite moment happened on the last day. Lynn Schusterman, who made it possible for me to be at ROI, and I sat together after a morning session and we did our yarn crafts together and chatted. She, knitting a scarf for her grandchildren. I, crocheting a scarf for my friend. We discussed technology and yarn and knitting and the beauty of Colorado. And that is what ROI is about, finding people with similar interests and connecting... Even if there is an age difference.See my ROI profile at http://www.roicommunity.org/users/talia-davis-haykin

No Pants Dance Update - Month One

Okay, I know. I totally suck. I haven't updated you except for the fast, tiny update at the start of the month. I am SO sorry! June was been quite a whirlwind month and I don't think I even had three seconds to do anything! (Including, by the way, shopping!)Part of this craziness was induced by a short notice 10 day trip to Israel. Yes. It was incredible but I was also concerned about breaking my no pants skirt dance. For those of you just joining us, after reading a very inspiring article in May, I decided to put my choices spending (optional stuff, clothing, etc) on hold for three months and see how I do. You can read about that here - No Pants Dance.I promised to blog about it and I horribly failed to do that this first month. But fortunately, that is about the biggest failure from the first month (and I blame it on insane traveling schedules and falling head over heels in love with my sweet boyfriend). My boyfriend and I were playing travel tag. I went on a trip then he went on a trip (we didn't see each other for two weeks solid!) then we were home together for a week and I left for a 10 day trip to Israel. So we were spending every second we had staring into each others eyes and telling each other how awesome and cute we are. It was a lot of work!  :)When I came home, I had about a week to get myself together again and then it was his birthday and my sorority's international convention held right here in Denver... a convention that I had been on the committee for and been planning for TWO YEARS! Okay, so seriously, this is my first week back into any sort of normal groove. But let's look at how I did on the No Pants Skirt Dance in June:

I spent VERY wisely when I was abroad. I did not go insane and buy the entire state of Israel. I limited myself to one treat (a dress from the shuk) and then got sweet boyfriend a kippah (skullcap), some tea that he enjoys, a cute magnet for our refrigerator collection, and a bunch of spices to play with when we cook. I didn't eat out much but I did get a couple of the fabulous ice cafes that are pretty unique to Israel (it's like a frappachino... with real coffee... you can't get coffee with ice cubes in it in Israel... well you can but it takes some explaining).

I had already purchased Sweet Boyfriend's birthday presents prior to the beginning of the No Pants Skirts Dance. That was very good. I did have to get a bit of packaging for them but it wasn't too bad.

There were some expenses involved in the traveling and the convention that I had not anticipated. It amounted to a couple hundred bucks... that disappointed me but at least I had it because I wasn't spending that money on other non-essentials.

The best part of June was when I came home and Sweet Boyfriend decided that he was going to take the challenge too. Since this is for OUR future, he said, we should do this together. So he is on a No Pants Dance too. He decided he liked polo shirts for the summer but only had two. He had a credit from purchases on ebay plus we are selling some older shirts and thus, getting more useful items while not spending any money! Brilliant!

Oh... one other thing did happen in the middle of this crazy month... I found out that my identity was stolen. Yes. Some jerk decided not live his own life on his own merits and hard work and would rather live on mine. Fortunately, I caught it pretty early. They used one of my existing credit cards and opened another... and tried but failed to open yet another. I went through a fairly intensive process of filing police reports, filing reports with the FTC, sending in fraud alerts, etc. And that was an additional unexpected expense... purchasing protection and monitoring for my credit and identity.

Sweet Boyfriend has been incredibly encouraging and helpful in this whole situation. He is a financial wiz so he is able to give me a realistic view of the future of our finances and frankly... if I keep working hard, it looks pretty good!$$ update:

I am currently putting a third of my income towards paying down my debt. At this rate, I will be clear of all debt, except my car payment and my student loan payments, within 8-9 months. If I can hold out, the No Pants Skirt Dance may last that long. This is all still while contributing to my 401k and putting away savings.

Once those debts are paid off, I will be putting that 33(ish) percent of my income towards the car and savings. I am hoping to build a strong financial base for myself and my future family. I know what it feels like to just scrape by and it is not a good feeling. I don't want my kids to have to deal with that.

For once in my life, I am actually jazzed about finances. It does help to have a smarty pants Sweet Boyfriend around...

A Whirlwind Tishrei

Last Tishrei I wrote about my adventures, traveling and getting settled in Israel. It was an incredible time for me. I was embarking on an extraordinary journey into myself and my Judaism.This Tishrei has been markedly different. I am back in the states, working hard for the Jewish community and have a lot going on. But I forced myself to stop and reflect this year as Rosh Hashanah approached and then Yom Kippur. We moved into Sukkot feeling fresh and ready to handle the new year... and then I was truly caught by surprise. I saw grumblings on Twitter that Gilad Shalit, the boy who was kidnapped in a cross border raid by Hamas FIVE YEARS AGO, was going home.Insert Jaw Drop Here.I just couldn't believe it. I walked past the tent where his parents sat, outside the Prime Minister's house in Jerusalem, so many times.We tied yellow ribbons on our backpacks. We wore Free Gilad t-shirts. We tweeted the days, hours, minutes he had been held as a kidnapped prisoner. We begged Hamas to allow the Red Cross to see him, as it states in international law that any enemy combatant is allowed visits from the Red Cross... it is required for prisoners of war... but no. Only two videos from him in five years. He was allowed to write two letters home in that time. We came to this point many times... will Gilad be released this time?! Is he even still alive? I doubted it. It was just more human capital for Hamas to spend.Then it was announced Israel would be releasing 1,027 Palestinians to retrieve one man. Now these aren't petty thieves. They are murders. Murders that have been tried for their parts in bombing of CIVILIAN locations in Israel. Who were found with bombs strapped to their bodies, off to kill civilians in Israel and (Thank G-d) their bombs malfunctioned. Of the 1,027, 300 prisoners serving life sentences for involvement in deadly attacks on Israelis such as suicide bombings in buses and bars. These were people who were tried and convicted. And yet, they were treated better than Gilad. They were given three meals a day that were nutritionally significant. They were allowed exercise and to interact with other people. Many of them left the prison with higher degrees, earned in jail.What about Gilad? We treated the prisoners with due process and rights. How was our son treated? He was severely malnourished, sun deprived, and kept in solitary confinement for FIVE YEARS. They came home tanned and healthy, as if they had been on a holiday. Gilad fainted on the helicopter and walked with assistance.They try to murder us every day. In fact, one woman who was released told a group of children... CHILDREN!!! "I hope you will walk the same path we took and God willing, we will see some of you as martyrs." Meaning, I hope you blow yourselves up and DIE so you can kill Jews and Israelis.And yet we would give all these people up to have one boy back. I feel like that speaks to character on both sides very clearly. One side celebrates children blowing themselves up along with innocent civilians and the other values one life so highly, that they put the country in danger by releasing 1,000 murders.Now I need to clarify one thing. I am not saying that all Palestinians are evil or want children to blow themselves up. My family has very dear friends in East Jerusalem who used to call themselves Arab Israelis but now call themselves Palestinians. They are amazing people and I cannot imagine one of them intentionally causing harm to the Israelis.I am also not saying all Israelis are innocent. I have heard the rhetoric and it disgusts me. The skirmishes in the settlements gets us no where. However, that is not our majority and while some fanatics take lives, it is not on the scale of the Palestinians nor is it a part of the education system in the broader country. I once saw a Palestinian school book where the math section said, "I there are 10 Israelis and I kill seven, how many Israelis are there left to kill?" That is not healthy for anyone.I am disturbed by this deal almost as much as I am overjoyed to have Gilad Shalit home. But I can't muster any hope that this eternal war will find a resolution that does not cost many, many lives. Anyone who has been to Israel has seen the undertones... the bubbling anger on both sides. I just pray to G-d that is does resolve and that neither side loses too many sons and daughters in the process.

Support the Magdala Center Dig

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I spent the most amazing 5 days digging in a 1st Century Jewish neighborhood just north of Tiberias in Israel this fall. (If you are new, that's okay! Just check out my Indiana Jones Adventure.)I learned about this dig through Fr. Kelly at Notre Dame of Jerusalem... who I met through Doug Seserman of the Allied Jewish Federation (where I now work). Denver is very fortunate to have such a great connection to this project and group.  Subsequently, I would like to share with you a unique opportunity in Denver. The Galilee Gala will take place on Wednesday, June 8 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  It is going to be a wonderful evening in support of this very important historical site where you will have the opportunity to learn more about the history of the area and what has already been unearthed (and it is truly awesome).But on a personal note, let me explain to you the nitty gritty. When the Catholic Church discovered this site, they were asked if they were just going to throw some concrete in and build the hotel on top of the area, as planned. Many groups, especially non-Jewish builders in Israel, do this... they hide or obscure history by destroying it. That is not the case for this site. The Catholic Church understands the value of this historical find for, not only the Jewish people, but also for their own edification. Instead of hiding it and covering it up, they are sharing this 1st Century synagogue with the world... despite the fact that it has increased the site cost for them. This will be at least a three year excavation. The friends I made on the dig will be living in a church in Tiberias for three years to work on this project. The welcome center and resources for the Christian pilgrims will be built around these sites and once the excavation is complete, it will become a multi-faith tourist attraction, accessible to all.None of this comes cheaply. The staff needs to be fed (multiple times a day, in fact!) and there are other expenses. I donated $25 a day while I was on the dig towards those expenses to help out with the project. But even so, they need continued support. Please consider attending The Galilee Gala in Denver on June 8th or sending a donation to the project.To donate, click here.If you are interested in attending the Gala, click here to register or scroll down for more information.Thank you in advance for your support!

A Mother's Plea

I have been thinking about a new blog for a while. Looking for inspiration around me... I have been working long hours, been exhausted, and have been sick. Then I came across this blog, this plea. This woman's daughter moved to Israel at 15 because she felt so passionate about living in her spiritual homeland. She left her family at a young age with little Hebrew knowledge to live in a foreign country. She then served in the Israeli army as a Lone Soldier (meaning she had no family in the country she was willing to die for). She chose to be in a tough combat unit.Then tragedy struck. She was hit by a car a developed a horrible disease called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. So clearly, her mother needs to go to Israel to be with her daughter. Unfortunately, her husband (the girl's father) is unemployed and working on getting disability through the VA. This mother will lose at least two months pay, if not her job, to go and be with her suffering daughter. S0me of you may know this and some may not but plane tickets to Israel are currently sitting around $1400 round trip. That is just the flight alone. Not food when she is there or anything else. She has reluctantly brought her situation to the web and is asking for help.This story really moved me. I have several friends serving as Lone Soldiers in Israel and my G-dbrothers have both served (one is currently serving) in the Israeli Army. No child should suffer without their mom if possible. So I ask you, please follow this link - Emergency Visit To Israel to read more about this situation and to donate. She is taking donation through PayPal and the link is just a little under the search box. $5, $15, $50, $500 everything helps.Thanks readers!

Passover and the Media

Okay, I have to give a big kol hakavod, big ups, to the artistic Jewish community as of late.Seriously.With the Maccabeats getting millions of hits on YouTube, a revolution has been spawned and I am super excited about it! Well, the Maccabeats have taken a vacation for Pesach and to let some other groups shine. Now, don't get me wrong, I miss my 'Beats but these videos for Passover are phenomenal!Here are my favorites:Hands down, the number 1 best! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIxToZmJwdI]Totally Israeli and I love it. Great song mix! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_RmVJLfRoM]These OrthoHotties are a great alternative to the Maccabeats! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qSXrnkSeKs]Lastly, here is the JFNA appeal. This is what I do now, save the Jews... [vimeo http://vimeo.com/22250375]Please consider giving a little this Pesach for those that can't afford to feed their families. Donate hereChag Pesach Sameach and to all - Next Year In Jerusalem!

Photos From My Archeology Adventure

Hi fans! So I was chatting with some friends from my very exciting archeological dig experience way back when (aka about 6 months ago... it's been 6 months!!!) and they have been sharing my blog with people interested in the dig and potential donors (please support this incredible and important work!).  So I thought I would make my dig pictures accessible.Here is a link to the images on Flickr. Please do not use any images without my express permission. If you would like permission, you can email me at TaliaSheWrote  @  gmail  .  com. Thank you!Magdala Archeological DigIt was an incredible experience!

Tired of Tiffs Over Tefillin...

What can I say, I can't avoid the alliteration.I am sick and tired of the craziness over tefillin on airplanes. It seems like more and more planes are being brought down or moved to high alert if a Jewish man breaks out his tefillin on-board. But what is equally, if not more so, disturbing is the comments you find on these articles.

An airplane is not a synagogue, mosque, church, temple, or cathedral. Pray discreetly and silently or perform your public display of piety for when you get on the ground. I'm sure everyone but God will be impressed.As a non practicing member of the Jewish faith, I ask you to please not draw any conclusions from these idiots. I suspect that less than .01% of Jews fall into the category of people who would act so stupidly. It strikes me that they were doing this for attention because there is absolutely no reason to do this on an airplane.Do these people live under a rock? To do anything like that on an airplane is ridiculous...it can wait until you get home. These people are either very dumb or playing dumb...it's not a case of a smart person just not getting it.To see the article and comments, click here.To see Alaska Airlines response, click here.

What this does show is intolerance and ignorance of the American people in relation to other faiths or religious practices sometimes. I understand that we live in trying times and everyone is suspicious of everyone (though I am inclined to believe that if it were a Christian many of these commenters would have a harder time condemning it and the flight crew would have recognized it immediately) but that does not absolve us from the requirement to understand and be respectful. I will say one thing, we, as Jews, should take it on ourselves to be conscious of this uninformed nature and be respectful of other's fears. A simple conversation with the flight attendants to inform them of the need to stand and pray and wear ritual garments would not go amiss and certainly ease tensions.

So, I am going to use my blog as a platform to explain some of these traditions. I know that my blog doesn't have that much circulation and this won't reach many of these people but I implore you to share this post far and wide.

Tefillin: Otherwise known as phylacteries. Neither name makes much sense to non-Hebrew/Greek speakers. They are SMALL leather boxes with straps which are put on the head and non-dominant arm during prayer. Inside the boxes are slips of parchment with verses from the Torah. The commandment to wear them during prayer in rabbinic in nature (meaning the rabbis/sages decided on it) and comes from the verse "And you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm, and they shall be as reminder between your eyes," in the Shema (one of our holiest blessings). Colloquially, in Judaism, we say you are going to "lay tefillin" meaning you will put them on. 

This comes from Yiddish. Tefillin is regularly worn by Orthodox Jews who believe that the written and oral Torah is divine (came directly from G-d) but also worn occasionally by other male Jews and more rarely by some females in the more Conservative and Reform circles. Today, tefillin are generally only worn during the weekday morning service called Shachrit but previously were worn all day. If you want to read more about the ritual around tefillin, here are some links - Wikipedia, My Jewish Learning.

Images of men wearing tefillin: So, we straight on tefillin? Let's move on to praying. One thing that comes up in the comments seems to be the inability to understand why Jews have to pray on a plane or at a certain time of day and why it must be out loud and not silent.

Prayer: Davening (in Yiddish) or prayer is a biblical commandment, one that cannot be put off or ignored if one believes in the Torah and Talmud as divine. The timing is just as important however, I will not bore you with the intricate details of legal hours and all that (you can read about it here if you feel so inclined and which, by the way, is similar to the Catholic's canonical hours). Suffice to say, we have to complete certain prayers by certain times of day. This can be a factor when you are planning a trip. In reference to the most recent incident, these guys were leaving Mexico with a layover in the USA and then headed to Europe... my guess is no matter when they scheduled, they would have to daven (pray) at some point on a plane.We are required to say 100 prayers a day... 70 of those you hit if you daven three times a day like you are supposed to (you can complete the rest with the blessings before and after food as well as the blessings for such things as after going to the bathroom). Look, basically, there are a lot of rules around how we pray and that is very unfamiliar to people who don't pray or even people of other faiths where prayer is not as proscribed. But for us it is important... like speaking the words out loud and praying in Hebrew... those may be odd to you (Catholics, I know you don't pray in Latin but your priests do so you should have some concept about it) but that is how we do. To follow the rules, if you follow those rules, you pray out loud, you do it in Hebrew and there are some parts of the service where you must be standing. It says it in the prayer books, which part to stand and which to sit. When in doubt (or on an airplane) just stand for the whole service... that's what I do. There is one outwardly odd practice though, that is not rule based. That is the rocking (or 'lurching' as I saw it referred to) back and forth. Why do Jews rock back and forth in prayer? Well, the rocking has become a minhag, a tradition and thus just as important as the other halacha (laws) mentioned here. Ask Moses has a good, albeit short, answer here but I have always found it to be a concentration helper. It helps you focus on the words. It is about the kavanah, the intention, behind it. Here is one view on Jewish prayer from Chabad.

So we pray differently than you. We pray at different times, in a different way, with different props. It doesn't make us good and you bad, it doesn't make you good and us bad. How you connect to G-d or if you are an atheist or agnostic, how you connect to what you need to connect to is your own personal mission. You have the right to ask questions about others but we cannot judge their prayer by our yardstick. I can understand the safety concerns... the fear that many people have nowadays because of the horrific attack 10 years ago. But I don't feel that fear personally. Why, you ask? Because I trust. I trust that I am supposed to land on the ground safely and if I am not there is nothing I can do about it. This doesn't lessen the tragedy that we all felt on 9/11 but it is how we move on. I trust El Al and the Israeli security at the airports to protect us from a hijacking or bombing. With less surety, I trust the American security system to protect American flights from a hijacking or bombing. (Why you ask? Because I trust well trained security personnel over an over-dependence on machines and minimum wage workers. And because Israel has kept any attack from happening since Entebbe.) But most of all, I trust that where I am going, I am supposed to be.I really hope this post has been helpful in understanding our traditions and perhaps can prevent some of these situations from happening on airplanes again.

Dear Egypt

Dear Egypt:Please stop looting your museums and for goodness sake, DON'T destroy your pyramids or the store-cities of Pithom and Ra'amses. We refuse to rebuild.Love,The JewsP.S. Great-Grandpa Moshe wants us to remind you that it was only through the good grace of God that we stopped at the number '10.' Don't get any funny ideas about real estate to the east...It's been all over Facebook and Twitter but I had to include it here. Look, it's a funny joke but Israel is really in an awkward spot here. On one hand, we can take in the people who are getting beaten by the government and help protect them but on the other hand, this government was the only one who sought peace with Israel. How do we keep our southern ally and help the people?